Innersole having upwardly foldable portions



Jan. 9, 1951 s, PENNELL I 2,537,156

INNERSOLE HAVING UPWARDLY FOLDABLE PORTIONS Filed Dec. 18, 1947 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1951 umzr w eastern INNERSQHEiHiMHNG UPWKRDEMEQHDABIJE.

BQRTION$ 'footmedieation..whiehwilhnroducezandimaiutain:

a. substantially sterile condition ini a. predeters mined. use; of: the; innersole: he. shoe- The. novel features... of, the invention. will; be

I hestiunderstood. from. the. foll'c'iwingi, description.

when. taken, together. with. the, accomnany na: drawing}. n;- which. certain. embodiments Qffthe. invention are; disclosed; and;,in which. the separate; parts; are. designated by. suitable; reference: oharactersinmach. of the; views; andlimwhichz.

Fig. 1 is aplamvievwefiaablankinnersole, indi:

" eating; irndottedelines diagrammatically the general outline of the innersole when in use.

Fig. 2 is a sideevieutoi axblank indicating its arrangement in a shoe, the latter being shown indotted lines and indot=dash= lines is: shown the side edge contour of the inner soleasa-ppear in-g after a;predeterminediuse thereofiin the shoe.

Fig, 3, is a side edge view. of the innersolev m the. form acquired thereby insaidpredetermined 115$;-

Efig; 4 is. a. rear view ofthe. heeliporti'omofg the; innersoleasseen in Fig. 3; and

; Eig. 5 is seetion on theli'ne 511-5 ofglug sg It. is. the, purpose of my invention tqpzgqvidle a paper innersole, wherein the paper employed is of a texture uncharacteristic having highly moisture: absorbent properties and, further, wherein the. paper. is: r at d. with m dication so as to produce and maintain in the use of the innersole in the shoea substantially sterile condition, particularly in eliminating the development of soreness or irritation due to the presence of excess moisture or sweating and also to eliminate common foot ailments, such as athlete's foot, ringworm, and the like.

It is preferred that the production of the paper is on the basis to produce what might be termed a neutral paper which is not excessive in acid or alkaline phases. I have found that sodium bicarbonate can be utilized as a medication to act in neutralizing excessive acid conditions which may prevail. Further, talcum is employed to present a smooth wearing surface and also in providing what might be termed a dry lubricant. Undecylenic acid, in minute amounts employed on the innersole, will prevent formation of nmvid'e. innerseles.

Z3 funsous rowthsand;whemlangerc ncentrations areemployedi they; williaetlt des roy. aaiunsnus; rowth.

isv furtherthe. uurnese. (if; my. inv ntion. ot which. can. b nexn nsiveln produced; thereby facilitating a minimum length; of; use... for. xamnla. acne. day, use,, aiter. which he innersoles areedisppsedlufiandinew. nner oles. used thefollowina day Beopleiwho; arenn heii: feet a great deal or do. eonsiderahle. walkin througnthe are;suhieeteditdtnaf rmatiom footsoreness irritations. and; o her. font; ailm nts. of. the. typeindicated and; by! using innersoles. of: the. type. and: kindthfimins disslhsddi, hese; dill:-

. culties. and; objectionabl haracteristics. can be overcome; and. the: feet; maintain d a; healthy; Sanitary or substantiating ste ile. onditien, at; all; imes. The innersdlaalmnrovidesa slithtrcushion. within. the: shdea fer, ease and comf rtto the; wearer. In Fi 1 of the.- drawins l.havetshownanina nersolev blank. at. 1.0;, mrmedi from. paper. of. h laminar-stature; described-2am; ie; cut. or. blanlied a), form atesormone. u. l2. and heel ion. 13.. thessideaqfithezinsten idlheeitnomtion; aremade slightlsg wide thanthj nrmallwidth;Qfi' thQ ShQEJi-Iktfll'ifllfi. as indicated; at. I13, I 3. these; extensions. aisoi will;- marsh. in. some; iiistances. at. theme; portion as. indicated; at; I] T in; Eigfinfihmdtawihgg. I

. QQnsidenina Big. is of; the drawing, itt will; al'sd appear" that; the rear. auction. Qt; the. heel. mines. ther. extensions, as at. Mend; lithalatter being; fprmedihy:notchedtenicutouttoontiqns.at thesidesz 1 f. the; innersole as, seem at In; and; IJ, and; Gilli-*1 many, of. the. r ar dge of. e, nnersole s. seem a '8). The e notches; anew: healga ll s A and; lit to extend upwardly in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and also indicated in Fig. 2, as the innersole automatically compensates itselfto fit within the shoe, as later described, and also allows the side extensions l3 to fold upwardly at the sides of the heel.

In the several views, particularly Figs. 3-5 inclusive, an attempt has beenv made to illustrate the final formation of the innersole as it is shaped in the use thereof in the shoe and as it would appear upon removal from the shoe, after a predetermined use thereof. The innersole will shape itself fairly well to the contour of the foot and thus have the rounded shapes which are at least diagrammatically shown in the drawing.

In the use of the innersole, the same, in its: blank form as shown in Fig. 1, is placed in the. shoe, as indicated by the side edge view thereof shown in full lines in Fig. 2. In this position, the innersole would be substantially fiat except fora slight curvature at the side edges of the shoe, which curvature is not attempted to be shown in Fig. 2 as it would add confusion. Th innersole of a size is made to fit snugly in the shoe and conforms with the shoe interior except for the side extensions as at ll, 12' and i3. Now then, when theshoe is worn, the operation of walking will cause the foot to automatically force the innersole backwardly in the direction of the heel, causing the extensions or flaps l4 and I5 to raise up at the back of the heel and the extensions 13', I2 and H to fold at the sides of the foot and a result substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 3 will be produced. Of course, with different feet and shoes, this contour will vary, primarily due to the fact that the innersole shapes itself, partly to the shoe and, also, to the foot. After the extensions, or flaps l4, l5 rise at the back of the heel and substantially come together at the notch l8 and the extensions l3 substantially meet the extensions [4, [5 at the notches' l6, H, the innersole then maintains this position throughout the continued use thereof during the day.

The advantage of constructing an innersole in the manner above described make it possible for each innersole to automatically compensate and fit properly upon the foot.

It will be understood that a single blank suitable for forming all the innersoles, as for example, paper, is medicated throughout its entire body, so that medication prevails on both surfaces of the innersole. This is distinctly advantageous, as it minimizes the number of die formations in producing innersoles of different sizes;

By reason of the economical cost of production, the innersoles may be packaged in bulk, suitable to provide weekly or monthly supplies to the userat a relatively nominal cost.

The cuts or V-notches formed in the rear edge and'rear side edges of the innersole produces what may be termed relatively moving and flexing portions which, when moved into the raised position, encircle the foot. The sideedges of the innersole forwardly of the heel portion also flex or bend upwardly in conforming to the shoe and foot and thus extending the cushioning throughout substantially the entire area of the shoe ex-' cept for the extreme toe portion where the innersole has moved backwardly to compensate for the rise'or upward extension of the heel as the innersole automatically moulds itself to the foot. The innersole, while fitting the shoe and conforming to the shoe insofar as length i concerned, is oversize as to widththus facilitating extensions of the sides of the inner sole around the side edge portions of the foot particularly at the heel.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An innersole for shoes, comprising a unitary sheet of thin highly flexible material conforming generally to the contour of the interior of a shoe bottom and oversize as to the heel and instep interior of said shoe bottom, the heel portion of the innersole having notches on opposed sides and centrally of the rear edge thereof extending from the outer periphery of the heel portion through 'the edge of the innersol proper, the corners of said notches terminating at said edges in rounded enlargements, said notches forming on the rear edge of the heel portion separate relatively flexing members, and said members, in the use of the innersole, being adapted to form, within the heel portion of a shoe, raised walls abutting centrally of the heel portion of the shoe.

2. An innersole for shoes, comprising a unitary sheet of thin highly flexible material conformin generally to the contour of the interior of a shoe bottom and oversize as to the heel and instep interior of said shoe bottom, the heel portion of the innersole having notches on opposed sides and centrally of the rear edge thereof extending from the outer periphery of the heel portion through the edge of the innersole proper, the corners of said notches terminating at said edges in rounded enlargements, said notches forming on the rear edge of the heel portion separate relatively flexing members, said members, in the use of the innersole, being adapted to form, within the heel portion of a shoe, raised walls abutting centrally of the heel portion of the shoe, sides of the instep portion being raised within the shoe and having edges abutting edges of said members.

SAMUEL PENNELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date.

1,447,586 Zucker Mar. 6, 1923 1,522,890 Krap Jan. 13, 1925 1,780,574 Williams Nov, 4, 1930 1,993,113 Piganelli Mar. 5, 1935 2,062,909 Kenagy Dec. 1, 1936 2,220,534 McLean Nov. 5, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 346,771 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1931 

